One small group of Naked Ladies dancing in the garden
As a member of the bloom team at the Boerner Botanical Gardens, one of my duties is to log in plants that are just beginning to bud. I also note when they are in full bloom and when they are finished flowering. The idea is to track when things actually do bloom in our area.
This year in the third week of August, we had a new arrival, a group of beautiful lilies had suddenly appeared in our shrub border. Tall, graceful and fragrant, these lilies had no greenery at all, just the flowers and stalks. They were not labeled and since I was unfamiliar with this plant, I looked for our horticulturist, Alex, to verify the plant name so I could record it properly. Of course he knew the plant and called it (Lycoris Squamigera). He also said that common names for this lily are Surprise Lily, Naked Lady and Spider Lily and that that he grows Lycoris Squamigera in his own garden because he loves to tell visitors that he just saw a naked lady in his garden. Just a bit of garden humor, but I thought it was funny.
We added the naked lady lilies into our log and monitored them each week. The lily blooms lasted for 3 weeks and on the 4th week, we noted that the staff had cut off the fading flowers so that the plant’s energy would not be used to produce seeds and instead replenish the bulbs. After blooming, Lycoris Squamigera produce strap like leaves to gather sunlight and nutrients for next year’s show.
In thinking about this plant later, I found that I really liked the Naked Ladies and their August bloom time was especially nice since a lot of the garden sections had finished blooming by then and those bright pink lilies really stood out among all the green and brown. I decided that a few Naked Ladies would be a good addition to my fall garden and of course their name will always be good for a laugh.
Planting Information
Common Name: Surprise lily, naked lady, spider lily
Botanical Name: Lycoris squamigera
Exposure: Full sun to light shade
Hardiness: Zones 5-9, protect with mulch in zones 5-7
Height: 20-24″
Bloom Time: Late summer
Life Span: These are long-lived plants that deliver brilliance and scent for generations